The Challenge of Complexity
We live in an era defined by information overload, polarised discourse, and rapidly shifting contexts. The ability to make sense of the world around us — to weave raw data, lived experience, and competing narratives into coherent understanding — has never been more valuable.
Defining Sensemaking
Sensemaking, a term popularised by organisational theorist Karl Weick, refers to the ongoing process through which people give meaning to experience. It is not a single moment of insight but a continuous, iterative cycle of noticing, framing, and updating.
Key properties of sensemaking:
- Retrospective: We understand events by looking back at them and constructing narratives.
- Social: Meaning is negotiated between people, not just manufactured in individual minds.
- Enacted: Our interpretations shape the reality we then act in, creating feedback loops.
Why It Matters in the Civic Sector
Public institutions, civil society organisations, and community groups face wicked problems — issues that resist straightforward analysis. Climate change, democratic backsliding, and social fragmentation all demand the kind of nuanced, collaborative meaning-making that sensemaking tools can support.
Moving Forward
The tools and practices in this space aim to make sensemaking explicit, shareable, and more robust. Whether through structured dialogue, argument mapping, or values exploration, the goal is to help individuals and groups think together more effectively.